As an aside - I would suggest that you buy fish and chips from a 'local chip shop' (and not as most foreign visitors to the UK do, in a restuarant/pub) the difference is amazing!

We moved from Yorkshire to the 'burbs of London nearly 20 yrs ago and the first thing we did every time we went back to Yorkshire to see my parents was a trip to the local 'chippie' for fish, cake and chips - Yum!

Now we've found a chippie in RI that tastes the same as Yorkshire F&C and have taken Aussies who also loved it also :-)

Hi again -

I came across this website a short while ago when I was planning my own upcoming trip - http://www.yorkshire-dales.com/index.html

Might be useful...

Tania

Pat
I think your proposed itinerary is great, but one thing is worrying me. The 14th April 2006 is Good Friday, so it looks as if your visit is going to fall around the Easter period. The schools will have closed for their 2 week Easter break, and everywhere is going to be getting busier and busier right throughout this period.
Personally I wouldn’t do your Dales trip without booking accommodation first. Others might disagree but I think you are playing a dangerous game. If you could find yourself a base for 2 or 3 nights you won’t have the worry about finding somewhere to stay, and you can also find somewhere that really suits you – for instance Jess might like to stay on a farm?
Please remember that part of the Dales are VERY rural, and some of the villages are nothing more than a cluster of houses around a green. Accommodation can be awkward to find at short notice, and you might end up staying somewhere expensive, or just not suitable.

On the summit of the road between Grassington and Pateley Bridge are the Stump Cross caverns, worth calling to see if they are open while you are passing:

http://www.stumpcrosscaverns.co.uk/findingus.htm

Also my personal preference when visiting Fountains Abbey and Studeley Royal is not to follow the signs for the Abbey but to take the little road off the B6265 at the small sign through the village of Studeley Roger. This goes to the back entrance to Studely Royal. The car park makes a lovely picnic area by a lake and there is a small cafe. You then approach the abbey by walking through the grounds of Studley Royal and along the river, which gives a lovely view. Note, this entrance is not signposted to either Fountains Abbey or Studeley Royal and the sign for the village can easily be missed, do check on a map.

This site might also be useful

http://www.nidderdale.co.uk/main.htm

Alya : When you say you went back to the local chippie for "..fish, cake and chips..." what do you mean by 'cake' ?

Ditto what Morgans said about booking ahead. If I were traveling by myself, winging it even during the school holidays might be fine. But with your daughter I think you would be much better off finding B&Bs and booking by about January.

A well located B&B would be a good base to tour anywhere in the Dales w/o having to pack/move/search for accomodations.

Sorry - that should be Morgana . . . . .

I've been called a lot worse Janis!
Pat - here's an example of a Dales Farmhouse B and B -
www.bewerleyhallfarm.co.uk (Jess might like the horse-riding?)
M

If you or your daughter like mystery novels, you might consider reading books by some of the authors who have set books in the Yorkshire Dales, e.g. Peter Robinson, Reginald Hill, Stephen Booth, etc.

Quote:
Alya : When you say you went back to the local chippie for "..fish, cake and chips..." what do you mean by 'cake' ?
Unquote.

Yes... did you mean a teacake, a barm or a stottie?
Or was the comma misplaced... and so did you mean a fish cake (a piece of fish sandwiched between two slices of potato and deep fried in batter) or a fish cake? (a mash of potato and fish and parsley seasoning, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried)

I prefer a Fish Supper... Cod Chips and a pot of luminous green Yorkshire Caviar (Mushy Peas).

Don't miss Jervaulx Abbey!! It was the best abbey of our Dales excursion. You can read the trip report at: www.GreenDragonArtist.com/TDChoneymoon.htm .

Pumbavu

Quote - "did you mean a fish cake (a piece of fish sandwiched between two slices of potato and deep fried in batter)”.

Our now local Chippie was opened in the 20's and the family moved from Yorkshire so, yes a 'proper' fish cake not one of those horrible mixes of mashed potato and fish - YUK!

Actually I had a 'Fish Butty' with a side order of chips for lunch on Saturday - with the requisite mushy peas - we take our own in an insulated mug.

The smell of a good fish and chip shop is wonderful and not something I ever expected to find in the US :-D